It was the low-tech, easy-to-use film format beloved of budding auteurs and cinema-obsessed visual artists, but Super 8 died a death in 1982, when Kodak stopped making the camera units after the rise of video. Now, however, Kodak has announced it will issue a new version of the Super 8 camera, half a century after it was first launched in 1965.
Super 8 – so called because of the redesigned camera and film stock, which allowed a larger image to be derived from film that was a similar size to the standard 8mm gauge – helped revolutionise home movies in the 1960s and 70s by operating with an easily-loaded film cartridge, and adding capability to record sound on the same film strip.
Despite the current predominance of digital formats in photography, Kodak is aiming to capitalise on what it calls the “analogue renaissance”, with a product launch at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. High-profile Swiss designer Yves Béhar has taken a lead role in the creation of the new camera.
Major directors have lined up to endorse Kodak’s new Super 8, many of whom used the format as teenagers in their first film-making attempts. Interstellar director Christopher Nolan said: “The news that Kodak is enabling the next generation of film-makers with access to an upgraded and enhanced version of the same analogue technology that first made me fall in love with cinematic storytelling is unbelievably exciting.” Star Wars: The Force Awakens director JJ Abrams – whose third feature, made in 2011, was called Super 8 – said: “While any technology that allows for visual storytelling must be embraced, nothing beats film … The fact that Kodak is building a brand new Super 8 camera is a dream come true.”
However, the new Super 8 is not entirely devoted to celluloid: anyone sending their footage to Kodak for processing will also receive a digital copy of their film. The camera, which is expected to be available later this year, is likely to be sold for $400-$750 (£270-£510).
- This article was amended on 6 January 2016, to correct the date of the film Super 8.
